Subaru Exiga seats seven in safety

An upgrade for the 2013 Subaru Liberty Exiga has finally addressed the car's principal design flaw — the lack of a centre position in the second row of seats.

When the Liberty-based MPV was launched here at the end of 2009, it was roundly criticised for the lack of that all-important seventh seat. Subaru Australia had specified a six-seat version of the Exiga for Australia, on the grounds that the seven-seat version only came with a lap belt for the centre seat position in the second row. That did not meet with the standard of safety being promoted at the time and consequently forced the importer's hand.

The new model year upgrade is expected to bolster Subaru's marketing of the car, with added sales to flow from that.

“Liberty Exiga will now appeal to even more families that need the option of a seventh seat, in addition to the significant cargo volume it offers for load carrying, with the seats down in a variety of combinations,” Subaru Australia MD, Nick Senior, was quoted saying in a press release.

Price is unchanged, starting from $37,990 ($42,490 for the Exiga Premium), but the upgraded Exiga also comes with three sets of child-seat anchor points in the rear and a new door mirror design. Premium-grade variants gain a new design of 17-inch alloy wheel.

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